The present invention relates to a new and distinctive American cranberry variety having a combination of traits including significantly higher yields, higher anthocyanin (red pigment) content, and higher stolon vigor as compared to the currently cultivated commercial varieties. The new variety, ‘NJS98-23’, resulted from crossing the variety ‘Stevens’ (unpatented) as the seed parent, with the variety ‘Ben Lear’ (unpatented) as the pollen parent. The plant was originally selected from over 1,500 seedlings growing in test plots in Chatsworth, N.J. and Portage County, Wis.
The American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) is a temperate, woody perennial plant species native to North America. The United States is the largest producer, with Wisconsin and Massachusetts representing the majority of cranberry acreage and production, followed by New Jersey, Oregon and Washington. Currently grown cranberry varieties include selections from native populations, and first generation hybrids. Significant acreage is still devoted to varieties that were selected from native cranberry populations from as far back as 1850, including ‘Ben Lear’ (unpatented), ‘Early Black’ (unpatented), ‘Howes’ (unpatented), ‘Lemunyon’ (unpatented), ‘McFarlin’ (unpatented), and ‘Searles’ (unpatented). The hybrid varieties were developed from one cycle of breeding and selection that was conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with state Agricultural Experiment Stations in the 1940's. This breeding program released a series of unpatented varieties in the 1950's including the most widely grown cultivar ‘Stevens’ (unpatented), which was selected from test plots in Pemberton, N.J.
Varieties having high anthocyanin production along with consistently high productivity have become essential for commercial success in cranberry production. Fruit crop productivity is a function of inherent differences among varieties for traits such as stolon vigor, upright density, inflorescence bud production, fruit set, and fruit size. Varieties with high stolon vigor will establish more rapidly and reduce the number of years required to achieve maximal production. However, after bed establishment, varieties must transition to optimal sexual reproduction mode, and optimal upright density, to achieve high crop production. Cranberry inflorescence bud primordia are set on uprights during the completion of the fruit development period and overwinter in a dormant state, before resuming growth the subsequent spring. Thus, the crop load of a given year, may impact the subsequent year's crop, contributing to the pronounced biennial bearing habit common to many varieties. Productivity is also subject to environmental effects, such as heat and light intensity stresses, cold (frost) stress, water stress (drought and excess), disease, insects, and certain pesticides.
TAcy, fruit anthocyanin content, is currently a fruit quality component of processed cranberries, having a minimum acceptable value, as well as premiums for fruit with higher TAcy values. Upon delivery to the processing plant, cranberries from a given bed are measured for TAcy content. TAcy is measured in terms of mg of anthocyanin per 100 g fruit using a standard spectrophotometric (520 nm) method. Earlier ripening varieties, which typically have higher TAcy, allow for earlier harvesting of a crop. Anthocyanin synthesis occurs predominately in the fruit epidermis, resulting in a generally negative correlation between fruit size and TAcy. The Rutgers University cranberry breeding program quantitatively measured TAcy along with mean fruit size, and selected only those progeny that were above the regression line representing the mean relationship between fruit size and TAcy.
New Jersey uniquely offers an ideal environment for cranberry breeding because of the climate, soils and water. Of all the cranberry production areas in North America, New Jersey conditions subject the cranberry to the highest disease pressure and heat stress. The plant must tolerate high heat stress and vegetative diseases during the growing season. Over 15 pathogens are known to incite cranberry fruit rot in New Jersey, and the fruit is also subject to heat scald and physiological breakdown. Thus, selection under New Jersey conditions offers the best opportunity to identify varieties with higher resistance to disease, scald, and heat stress.
The Rutgers University cranberry breeding program, in Chatsworth, N.J., was initiated in 1985 to take advantage of this unique selection pressure. The program's methods were designed to duplicate, as much as possible, the environment of a commercial bed. Thus, breeding plots of 1.5×1.5 m were established with multiple plants and allowed to fill in to form a dense canopy. Two to four years after planting, yield of a given plot was evaluated over a four year minimum to provide for biennial bearing assessment. Traits being evaluated in Rutgers University's cranberry breeding program include yield, fruit rot susceptibility/resistance, scald, stolon and upright vigor, total anthocyanin content (TAcy), soluble solids (Brix), and titratable acidity.
The new variety, ‘NJS98-23’, resulted from crossing the variety ‘Stevens’ (unpatented) as the seed parent, with the variety ‘Ben Lear’ (unpatented) as the pollen parent. The original plant of the new variety was selected from plants growing in cultured test plots planted in 1993 in Chatsworth, N.J.
‘NJS98-23’ is a new cranberry variety selected under New Jersey's stressful conditions, which offers the potential for rapid bed establishment, high yields, early ripening and higher TAcy content.